WBOB Original Reads

POLL: Who is RI's Biggest Villain?

5/10/2014

Rhode Island certainly has its history of scandals, cover-ups, and cronyism, but who deserves the "honor" of being the Ocean State's current biggest villain?

The Nominees

Gordon Fox: The former Speaker of the House, and current RI State Rep for District 4 was the focus of a raid of the Statehouse in March, and this week was tied to some shady dealings involving Michael Corso, his former bar (Tazza), and 38 Studios.

Coventry's Tiogue Elementary School: WBOB received an exclusive letter from a concerned parent last week alleging the abuse and mishandling of their special needs student. Check the comments section and see that there are many more parents with similar complaints of the school and district.

Matt Jennings: The owner and chef of a popular Wayland Square Eatery announced this week that he would sell Farmstead, taking his James Beard Award 40 miles north to greener, more profitable pastures in Boston.

Brandon Austin: The former Providence Friar and now former Oregon Duck was involved in a sexual assault investigation for a second time in less than a year. In November, Austin was accused of sexual of a fellow PC student and suspended from the team while the matter was investigated. He quickly transferred to Oregon.

Debora Gist: The Education Commissioner for Rhode Island has been a lightning rod since her appointment in 2009. This week, she made the news after her policy agenda took a blow following the Senate Education Committee voted to block the use of high-stakes testing as a graduation requirement until at least 2017.